Week 3, Term 2

Hello from the Preps! 

In Literacy this week, we met two more of Milo’s friends: Jack Jellyfish and Zoe Zebra. We were proud this week to write our own sentence INDEPENDENTLY. It was fantastic to see everyone being brave and having a go writing. Every day we continue to practise writing our letters, words and everything we need in our sentences. In Maths we have continued learning our pairs that add up to 10. We created Friendly Butterflies, with each butterfly showing a pair to ten with dots on their wings. For our Big Question, we have been learning about ways to keep ourselves happy and healthy including the importance of washing our hands and exercising. For our STEAM challenge this week, we worked in pairs to build the best house after reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’. We even tested out whether the wolf (a hair dryer) could blow them down or could they stay standing for 10 seconds! A highlight of our week was our first school photos on Wednesday. It was fun to be a part of the whole school photo, class photo and have our own photos taken.

Thank you to families who attended our Parent-Teacher Interviews and took the time to discuss your child’s achievements. If you were unable to attend your interview, please reach out to us to arrange a suitable time.

Next week in Literacy, we’ll meet two more characters. It’s hard to believe that there are only 4 more characters to go. In Maths, we’ll focus on doubling and halving numbers to five through maths games and activities. We will continue participating in PMP activities and a new STEAM challenge.

We hope you enjoy celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend and enjoy the special gift we made! 

From Lauren and Nicole

Hello from the Golden Wattle building! 

This week, we have finished up our inquiry into "What makes us happy and healthy?". We focused on physical health and how important exercise is for our bodies and minds. There was lots of fun and laughter with the STEAM Challenge this week, as students worked in small groups to design a game that promotes health and happiness. Students then needed to use everything they had learned throughout our inquiry to plan a ‘FUNtastic’ day for a friend, thinking about the categories: food, sleep, people, animals, physical exercise and fun!

In Literacy, we have been continuing to expand simple sentences by including adverbs in our sentences to describe HOW an action is being done. We’ve enjoyed sharing the stories ‘Oh the things you can do that are good for you’, ‘Today I will Fly’ and ‘The Couch Potato’.

In Maths, we have been measuring the length of objects. We have done this by comparing the length of different items to see which is longer/shorter and using materials such as blocks, icy pole sticks and rulers to measure items.

In Wellbeing, we have focused on knowing and showing respect. We discussed and acted out scenarios where people are showing respect and where people are being rude. We also drew a picture showing respect in action.

Next week, we will begin our new Big Question, "What do we know about where we live?". Hopefully, you have seen the note that went home about an upcoming excursion to Buda House. It would be wonderful if the permission slip could be returned as soon as possible.

In Literacy, we will continue to expand simple sentences with a focus on adjectives, while in Maths, we will continue measuring length. Our Wellbeing focus will be on positive coping strategies.

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Wendy, Laura, Claire, Sarah and Andrew

In Literacy, we have continued to read about various ways to be happy and healthy, focusing this week on exercise and meditation. We have been looking at persuasive devices used in advertising and constructed our own advertisements that are designed to persuade people to become more active. See below for some examples. As we are wrapping up this Big Question this week, our final task was to create our own personal ‘recipe’ for happiness and healthiness. Our word study focus has been on the Greek “ch” making the ‘k’ sound, in words such as ‘scheme’, ‘school’ and ‘mechanic’.

In Maths, we have turned our attention to Fractions and have been learning about mixed numerals (e.g. 1 ¾ ) and improper fractions (e.g. 7/4) . This has allowed us to practice our developing knowledge of multiplication and division.

In wellbeing this week, we have continued to investigate our personal and cultural strengths and how these strengths can be applied to a variety of scenarios. These strengths include hope and optimism, humour, determination, inclusiveness, compassion, honesty, creativity and loyalty, to name just a few.

Cross Country was a success with so many students turning up and trying their best. Thanks to Carly for organising a big day out!

The Orangutan Project 

We have also been tuning into our Orangutan sponsorship this week and have received some great news hot off the press. One of the Orangutans we sponsor, Popi, has been just moved to a new site, the pre-release island. This special environment gives Popi the perfect opportunity to fine-tune the skills she’ll need to survive in the wild: foraging for food, climbing high into the canopy, building nests, and gaining the strength and confidence she’ll need for her eventual return to true forest freedom.

The move went smoothly, and Popi and her friend Devi quickly made themselves at home. The island is bursting with fruiting trees, and the girls were thrilled to explore and feast. True to form, Devi led the way with confidence, and Popi happily followed, taking it all in and adapting beautifully to her new surroundings. This is fantastic news for these critically endangered mammals. If you are interested in finding out more then head to the website for further information and updates.

https://www.orangutan.org.au/  

Here are some Grade 3/4 artworks inspired by our recent learning:

Division Cross Country Gr 3-6

Some students have received an invite to the Division Cross Country on Friday 16th May following their District Cross Country run today. Your child will hopefully have also brought home a permission note. This event is not compulsory to attend, but rather an opportunity. Please let Carly know on carly.mcginniskin@education.vic.gov.au if your child does NOT want to attend, so we can organise our school transport and staff supervision around our numbers. We will require the assistance of parents/carers to help supervise our students and act as marshals, recording or finish line officials. This is a very short turnaround, please return your permission note by Wednesday 14th May. 

Approximate Schedule 

10:30 12+ Boys / Mixed

11:00 12+ Girls

11:30 11 Boys / Mixed

12:00 11 Girls

12:30 10 Boys / Mixed

12:45 10 Girls

Please keep in mind that students who place in the top 12 at Division will receive an invitation to the Regional Cross Country on Tuesday 27th May at St. Arnaud. 

Bendigo Braves School Cup

Our CNPS team has made it through to the semi-finals after their great performances in shooting, passing, agility and dribbling! The semi-final is on Saturday 24th May during the Bendigo Braves matches. See the gallery for their first round photos.

There’s a buzz of creativity in the Performing Arts room this term.  

Last week, the 5/6 students attended The Phee Broadway Theatre to see Castlemaine Secondary College’s performance of Mama Mia. It was great discussing the different aspects of theatre. The students were particularly interested in the technical parts of creating a show such as props, sets, costume and lighting. Being a whole school performance year, it will be great for the 5/6 students to take on some of these extra responsibilities.

The Prep to 2s have been practising creative dance. We have been thinking about how we can use counting to help us dance in unison (at the same time) and canon (one after the other). Prep E students had a lovely time with some imaginative play on Thursday afternoon. There was a lot of fun had creating characters and making up story lines.

The Grade 3/4s have been using natural disasters as a focus of their dance motif. This week we focused on earthquakes and students created a short sequence that showed their story.

The Grade 5/6s are continuing their scripted drama piece. Parents and carers, please have a chat with your child about what they need for their costumes/props. And we would like to invite you in during their class in Week 6 so please look out for your child’s time closer to the date.

Reconciliation week is approaching in Week 6 and I am putting a call out for some props that I would like to use with the students including:

• Cotton plant 

• Feathers (of any description) 

• Gum nuts 

• Banksia cones 

• Stones 

• Native leaves  

• leafy branches (perhaps closer to the date)  

Thanks, 

Nicci

Prep E

Freya R - for being brave and writing your first sentence independently.
Catherine F - for coming to school every day with a smile, ready to try your hardest. 

Prep N

Vallie C - for the confident and enthusiastic way you challenged yourself to write more than one sentence.
Quinn K - for the confidence you showed when finding the "friends of ten" in Maths.

1/2 L

Charlie R - for your commitment to practising and learning your heart words like a champion!
Ari R - for your well designed and confidently taught 'new sport'.

1/2 CS

Gillian C - for the way you always try your best and approach tasks with enthusiasm.
Pranavi K - for the kind way you help your classmates.

1/2 WA

Jimmy W - for your imaginative Big Write, The Day I Ate a Magic Breakfast.
Nathan M - for your kind and responsible leadership on our class walk around Castlemaine. 

3/4 PS

Chet C - for your focus and enthusiasm during our spelling lessons.
Sadie B - for your outstanding use of brackets in your animal report writing.

3/4 L

Mason C - for the way you encourage others.
Marlow P - for your awesome effort in Cross Country.

3/4 S

Rufus E - for having the courage to be an upstander when you knew something wasn't right.
Estelle H - for taking your learning about snow leopards further by bringing in books from home.
Aidan S - for the kind and thoughtful way you supported a classmate when researching snakes.

3/4 H

Clancy K - for your beautifully written sentences about Asian elephants.
Samuel C - for always being switched on, ready to go and put your best effort into Maths.

5/6 H

Gulliver W - for showing resilience and persistence.
Evan M - for having the courage to make positive change.

5/6 J

Evelina S - for making others feel welcome and included.
Mary C - for making a mature choice to consolidate your fractions understanding.
Jack T - for your positive attitude and readiness to start reading.

5/6 BC

Beau W - for always being able to accept and implement feedback with a smile on your face.
Adelaide G - for your insatiable desire to be challenged in all areas of your learning.

5/6 BN

Mick C - for working well in Maths and taking time to understand fractions.
Lani M - for your consistent focus and attention in all areas of school life.

Performing Arts

Arlo M - for your great focus this week in Performing Arts.

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